According to a report on ESPN.com, the way Pennsylvania state law is written, many of the alleged victims in the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault case may not be able to file a lawsuit against Penn State or other defendants -- and their age may be the reason.

According to Pennsylvania state law, plaintiffs over the age of 20 may only file lawsuits in cases of sexual abuse that involved "forcible compulsion," which may exclude some of the lesser charges Sandusky currently faces -- regardless of their ages at the time of the alleged assaults. Seven of the eight alleged victims are now over the age of 20.

Here's more from the report:

Shanin Specter, a litigator in Philadelphia who has been contacted by the family of one of the alleged victims, said the loophole could eliminate some of the victims as viable plaintiffs.

Specter said his firm will meet with the young man and his mother early next week to begin exploring legal options. He said he was contacted last week by the mother, whose son is one of eight alleged victims listed in the grand jury presentment against Sandusky.

"There's no doubt Joe Paterno will be sued and it will be left up to the discovery process to determine his liability," Specter said. "There are a lot of victims who suffered damages, and I expect that some number of defendants will be obligated to pay a lot of money."

Specter said he expects all of the men cited in the grand jury presentment will face lawsuits for any role they played in not reporting the alleged crimes to authorities.

It's important to note that at this point, regardless of Specter's certainty on the issue, no civil suits have been filed yet. That's obviously subject to change over the coming weeks and months, but until those theoretical suits do (or don't) get filed, there's no way to address what effect the statute has on any complaints.

It was announced on Friday that Joe Paterno had retained criminal defense lawyer Wick Sollers in this matter, even though Paterno is not facing charges and was described as not being a target of the investigation by Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly.

Sandusky faces 40 charges of varying severity related to the sexual assault of minors, up to and including rape, after alleged incidents that occurred from 1995 to 2009.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Penn State interim president Rodney Erickson announced that embattled assistant coach Mike McQueary -- a grand jury witness in the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault investigation -- had been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave, and that he would not attend the Penn State-Nebraska game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

McQueary's disassociation from the Penn State program may have already gone farther than what was announced by the university, however.

When players asked, "Coach, where are you? Can we see you?" McQueary responded, “No, I'm actually in protective custody. I'm not in State College.”

McQueary added that he was, "Double-fisting it," meaning he was having two drinks at once.

While Erickson's press conference mentioned nothing about protective custody, he did mention that the current environment surrounding McQueary and the team made going on leave a necessity.

"It became clear Coach McQueary could not function in this role under these circumstances," said Erickson. McQueary had come under fire for not intervening in an alleged sexual assault by Sandusky in 2002 after witnessing it, then reporting the assault to since-fired Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, but not directly to police.

A day earlier, Penn State had already announced that McQueary would not be coaching in this weekend's game, but the school merely said that that decision had been made because of threats against McQueary received by the school. Presumably, those threats are what have led to the reported protective custody. There was no mention of McQueary's job status in the Thursday announcement, and Erickson's press conference only revealed that McQueary's administrative leave was indefinite and paid.

When one reporter asked him whether McQueary was covered under whistleblower laws, since he reported the incident to a superior, Erickson simply acknowledged that "there are complexities" to the issue. Erickson also declined to go into whether McQueary was on leave because of the threats Penn State reported receiving, or because of his role in reporting the alleged assault in 2002.

Sandusky faces 40 various counts of sexual misbehavior with minors, and the state of Pennsylvania has announced that the investigation is still ongoing.

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UPDATE: Official word from the Virginia athletic department is that any stories regarding Mike London's direct or indirect contact with Penn State about a coaching position are "simply not true." The Cavaliers, trailing only Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division standings, face Duke at home on Saturday.

After nearly half of a century, the Penn State head football coaching position is open. While interim head coach Tom Bradley prepares the current roster for a run at the Big Ten title, the school has already begun looking toward the future. According to a local report, Penn State has already begun targeting potential candidates. One of the first of which being Virginia head coach Mike London.

While London has no specific ties to the Nittany Lions, he did spend three seasons on the Virginia coaching staff under then-defensive coordinator Al Golden. Golden, former tight end and team captain at Penn State, has been immediately suggested as a candidate for the job, though the Miami head coach insists that he and his family are happy in Coral Gables. London eventually followed Golden as defensive coordinator for two seasons before spending two seasons as the head coach at Richmond.

In only his second year at Virginia, London already has the Cavaliers bowl eligible and in contention for an ACC Coastal Division title. With a focus on in-state recruiting and rebuilding pride in the program, London's strides in Charlottesville deserve the attention he has been receiving. His "no thanks" to Penn State likely has as much (if not more) to do with the success at Virginia than the issues in State College.

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With everything going on at Penn State this week, Scranton Times-Tribune Penn State beat writer Donnie Collins joins Adam Aizer on the newest episode of the CBSSports.com College Fooball Podcast. Donnie talks about Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary, how the locals feel about Joe Paterno at the moment, and what the future of Penn State football holds.

The Eye On College Football blog's own Jerry Hinnen also joins Adam to talk about Thursday night's games, and what, if anything, can Georgia and Arkansas do to derail the LSU train in the SEC.

After being spared his job by the Penn State board of trustees, assistant coach Mike McQueary -- a witness of an alleged sexual assault by former PSU assistant Jerry Sandusky -- will not be on the sidelines on Saturday as his Nittany Lions take on Nebraska in PSU's home finale.

According to a statement released by Penn State on Wednesday, McQueary received "multiple threats," and the Penn State athletic department decided that "it would be in the best interest of all for Assistant Coach McQueary not to be in attendance" for the Saturday game.

McQueary is under fire for reporting the alleged sexual assault to his father and to Joe Paterno, but not the police. Paterno has since been fired, and the two administrators that Paterno then notified face charges of perjury and failure to report child abuse.

When Penn State interim head coach Tom Bradley spoke to the media on Thursday, just hours after the official dismissal of Joe Paterno, one of the many questions left unanswered in the press conference was the status of wide receivers coach Mike McQueary.

With President Graham Spanier and head coach Joe Paterno relieved of their duties in response to details surrounding the Jerry Sandusky investigation, McQueary's future with Penn State also appears uncertain. The wide receivers' coach has not issued a formal resignation, and there has been no official word from the school on whether he will be on the sidelines or in the press box for Saturday's home finale against Nebraska

After seeing the reaction from the Penn State community on Wednesday night, the safety of the players and coaches has become a top concern for Saturday. Nebraska has asked Penn State's police department to take appropriate security measures to ensure a conflict-free visit for their players, coaches, and traveling party.

When Penn State interim head coach Tom Bradley spoke to the media on Thursday, just hours after the official dismissal of Joe Paterno, one of the many questions left unanswered in the press conference was the status of wide receivers coach Mike McQueary.

With President Graham Spanier and head coach Joe Paterno relieved of their duties in response to details surrounding the Jerry Sandusky investigation, McQueary's future with Penn State also appears uncertain. The wide receivers' coach has not issued a formal resignation, and there has been no official word from the school on whether he will be on the sidelines or in the press box for Saturday's home finale against Nebraska

After seeing the reaction from the Penn State community on Wednesday night, the safety of the players and coaches has become a top concern for Saturday. Nebraska has asked Penn State's police department to take appropriate security measures to ensure a conflict-free visit for their players, coaches, and traveling party.

As the scandal at Penn State has continued to unfold, one of the questions that has come up involves the possible action of the NCAA. While the immediate concern in the investigation of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is legal, it is possible the program could be found in violation of NCAA bylaws.

The school has already relieved President Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Schultz, athletic director Tim Curley, and head football coach Joe Paterno of their duties in the last week, but the program could face further punishment from the NCAA.

Regarding the ongoing Penn State criminal investigation, the NCAA is actively monitoring developments and assessing appropriate steps moving forward. The NCAA will defer in the immediate term to law enforcement officials since this situation involved alleged crimes.

As the facts are established through the justice system, we will determine whether Association bylaws have been violated and act accordingly. To be clear, civil and criminal law will always take precedence over Association rules.

The stance is predictable, but also appropriate for the time. The crimes that have been allegedly committed at Penn State take a much higher priority than possible NCAA violations, and I'd argue that most college football fans can agree with that position. If there is any potential violation I assume it would be uncovered in the criminal investigation, and then the NCAA would have a chance to respond.